Album Review

Irvine, CA-based quartet Thrice are oft-described as “the Radiohead of heavy music,” and true to that somewhat grandiose tag, their music transcends nearly all of the genre-bound strictures of the metal, hardcore, and punk that have been woven into their post-hardcore DNA. Beggars, the group’s seventh album, wisely sidesteps some of the indulgences of their ambitious (but flawed) EP series, The Alchemy Index. Containing all of the progressive fire of that series, tempered by a straightforward and honest approach to songcraft, the album delivers a lot of what longtime Thrice fans have been clamoring for (colossal, heavy riffs) while striving for a sound that won’t alienate newer, more mainstream, listeners.

Biography

Formed: 1998 in Irvine, CA

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '00s, '10s

Post-hardcore quartet Thrice formed in 1998 in Irvine, California. Guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue, guitarist Teppei Teranishi, bassist Eddie Breckenridge, and drummer Riley Breckenridge all knew each other from high school and the neighborhood skate park, and the usual round of practices, music competitions, and local gigs helped hone their new band's sound. By late 1999, Thrice had amassed enough material to cut a proper record. Working with Death by Stereo's Paul Miner, the quartet recorded...